Gulledge grabs BFL win on Red River

Boater Danny Gulledge of Crossett, Ark., earned $3,553 June 10 as winner of the BFL Louisiana Division event on the Red River. Angler: Danny Gulledge.

June 10, 2006 • MLF • Archives

SHREVEPORT, La. – Boater Danny Gulledge of Crossett, Ark., earned $3,553 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Louisiana Division event on the Red River. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Louisiana Division events and earned Gulledge 200 points in the Boater Division.

Gulledge’s winning catch of five bass weighed 15 pounds. He was throwing a combination of War Eagle Spinnerbaits and Wave Tiki Worms in 2 to 7 feet of water around wood and grass to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Brent Broussard of Saint Amant, La. (five bass, 12 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,777); Bruce Brown of Haughton, La. (five bass, 12 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,185); Lynn Alexander of Denham Springs, La. (five bass, 11 pounds, 15 ounces, $829) and Chris Clark of Bossier City, La. (five bass, 10 pounds, 11 ounces, $711).

Brown took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning him an additional $455 for a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass.

Lynn Alexander also took home an additional $500 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup participant.

Vernon Silver of Boutte, La., won the Co-angler Division to earn $1,777 thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 6 ounces. Silver also took Co-angler big bass honors with a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass earning him an additional $227. Silver caught his fish on Senko’s and jigs around submerged wood and lay-downs.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bernie Black of Hammond, La. (five bass, 9 pounds, 13 ounces, $888); Corey Wheat of Prairieville, La. (five bass, 9 pounds, 5 ounces, $592); Ray Welch of Bossier City, La. (five bass, 8 pounds, 13 ounces, $415); and Ben Naquin of Thibodaux, La. (five bass, 8 pounds, 10 ounces, $355).

The Louisiana Division’s next event will be held Sept. 23- 24 on the Atchafalaya Basin near Morgan City, La., for their two-day Super Tournament.

Following the regular season, the Louisiana Division boater with the most points who advances farthest in the Wal-Mart BFL All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances farthest will earn $5,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points going to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third and so on except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. The top 40 Louisiana Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Wright Patman Regional near Texarkana, Texas, Oct. 19-21, where they will compete against Arkie, Cowboy, and Okie Division anglers for one of six slots in the 2007 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired, with boaters supplying the boat and fishing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing from the back deck against other co-anglers.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.